Russia unveils Sochi Games torch relay

The 2014 Winter Olympics torch relay was presented at a special ceremony in Moscow on Sunday with one year to go before it gets underway. The relay is scheduled to start in Moscow on October 7, 2013, to arrive in the Games host city Sochi on February 7, 2014, the opening day of the Olympics. The head of 2014 Games organising committee Dmitry Chernyshenko said that organisers were hoping that the relay would unite the entire country, as it would travel 65,000km through all of Russia's nine time zones. "We want to give every region of the Russian Federation an opportunity to demonstrate their historic and cultural heritage and allow every Russian citizen to feel a part of the Games," Chernyshenko said. Organisers added that around 14,000 torchbearers would take part in the relay to carry the torch for a 200-300 metres distance each.